Exercise of the Week – Anderson Front Squats
August 1, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
This exercise is a killer… Anderson Front Squats. ”Anderson Squats” are usually done with the bar on your back. But in this version, you rack the back across your shoulders, as you would in a traditional front squat.
You can set the pins as low as you want. The lower the harder, but make sure to set them at a depth that allows you to keep form (abs tight, weight on your heels, chest tall, etc). In traditional squats, as you descend, the tendons will store energy and assist the muscles on the concentric portion (the way up) of the lift. By unloading the bar on the pins for a second, this “stretch-shortening cycle” is reduced (or eliminated if you rest the bar on the pins long enough) making it so the muscles will have to do more work. It is kind of like a deadlift in this sense – you let the bar rest on the ground for a second before going into the next rep. The big different here is that Anderson Squats are more quad dominant, whereas deadlifts are more hip dominant (unless you purposely lean forward with Anderson Squats to bring the glutes/hams into play more).
When first trying these, start off light as they can be humbling! But they are great for your quads, your core, and will help with your posture. Did I say they are great for your quads? 
…
Give them a try, and um, “enjoy,” as they are oh-so-fun!
My Split Is The Best Body Part Split Ever Splitted! Plus, A Sample Training Day Inside…
July 26, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
OR, should the title read; My Split Is The Best Body Part Split Ever Splat? I’m not sure. Proper grammar is not my strong point. What is my strong point however, is my unreal program design! If you haven’t already checked out my article, “Breaking The Rules,” but sure to do so. In it, you’ll see that I am currently using a body part split, even though my time is very limited. Usually I’d recommend full body training when life is as crazy as mine is right now (thank you twins). But I decided to break the rules, because I’m crazy like that.
Anyway, here is a sample training day of one of my current body part splits …
Sternocleidomastoid & Biceps Femoris (Short Head )Day
As mentioned above, you can read the reasons I’m going with a body part split right now even though I don’t have much time to train these days. Therefore, I won’t get into the reasons for going body part split in this post. I will however, tell you why I chose to go with the sternocleidomastoid and biceps femoris short head day… besides the obvious – and that is, because I think of and execute brilliant plans. Things that others would never be able to come up with in 100 years! Readers, PLEASE leave a comment in the comments section below. I want to hear from you; do you think I should start working on my book (Titled: “How to REALLY Break Down Body Part Splits, and Make Them Work For You”)? Or should I let the anticipation build, and wait awhile before I release the book?
Now that you all truly understand how awesome I am, let me highlight the bold points, as far as what makes this split SO effective…
-The sternocleidomastoid and biceps femoris are non-competing muscles. This allows me to go back and fourth between the two muscles so that one exercise doesn’t “interfere” with the other.
-They are relatively small body parts, so the workout is incredibly easy!
-Because the body parts are relatively small and don’t need much recovery time between sets, I can finish the workout in less than 8 minutes.
-No one else in the gym is using a similar split, so this alone separates me from the pack.
Ok, let me stop right here. I just hope no one stopped reading this blogpost before reading this line. Because if they did they’d probably think I was a bigger jackass than Steve-O!
Obviously going with a sternocleidomastoid and biceps femoris (short head) day would be pretty ridiculous (but I had you thinking that I was really using that split – didn’t I!?!). So, let me give you an example of one of the days that I am REALLY using…
Triceps + “Posterior Chain” Day
A1) Close-Grip Bench Press – 5 X 5
A2) Hip Thrust 4 sets (2 X 5, 1 X 10 and 1 set of 1-leg body weight X AMRAP)
B1) Decline DB Skull Crushers – 2 X 15
B2) 1-leg Swiss Ball Leg Curl – 2 X 15
Everyone of my training sessions takes me about 20 minutes (not counting warm-up and post-workout stretching). This is NOT my norm, but for the reasons mentioned in the article, this fits the bill perfectly for the time being!
There you go, a look into my current training program. Sometimes you have to modify your training when life “gets in the way.” Nothing wrong with that!
Breaking the Rules
July 19, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I’ve contributed a few articles now to a great fitness website, Zen to Fitness. Here is my most recent…
“I’m a law-abiding citizen. I realize that rules are put in place for a reason – without rules there would be chaos. But now and then, it is perfectly fine to break a few rules. When it comes to training, the rules made by the fitness gurus are no different – there is a time a place to take these rules, and throw them out the window.
Always Train Full Body When Time Is Limited… Right?”
“Cardio” To Perform When Sore…
July 13, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
A number of years back Eric Cressey came out with an article called Cardio Confusion. Since that article, I’ve been incorporating “active recovery circuits” on my off days. Now, I don’t do them NEARLY enough, but whenever I do, I feel much better as they 1) help speed recovery, and 2) help improve mobility (which most of us need to improve). And a nice little “side effect” is some low impact calorie burning to help us with our health and fat loss goals.
One of the worst thing you can do (and way too many people are doing this), is say, “I am SO sore from my workout yesterday! Therefore I’m just going to veg-out on the couch all day today.” That will do nothing to speed up the recovery process, and contribute to the build-up of knots/adhesions all over your body. Going on a fast-paced walk (and moving in general) is a much better way to spend your off days. Even better though, is putting your body through a full range of motion, as you’ll see below.
There are number of ways to set up these active recovery days;
-You can perform dynamic flexibility circuits (address areas of your body that are tight).
-You can do low-intensity resistance exercises (pick a handful of exercises and cycle through them).
-Or, as I like to do, throw some dynamic flexibility circuits in WITH the low-intensity resistance exercises.
Here are the exercises I did in yesterday’s active recovery/cardio session…
I just started a new program earlier in the week. And as you probably know, when you start a new program the chances of soreness are higher. Going into my cardio session yesterday, my pecs, glutes, and adductors (inner thighs) were especially sore. So it was perfect timing to perform this active recovery day. For the purposes of not boring you to death, I only recorded an example with 4 reps per exercise. Normally I perform 10-12 reps (sometimes up to 20 reps) per exercise (6-10 exercises).
Above, you see
-Goblet Squats
-Push-ups
-RDL/Bent Over Row (hybrid)
-Wall Hip Flexor Mobilizations (to address my tight quads)
-Hip Thrusts
-Reverse Lunge with Twist
I did 3 rounds of this circuit. I also started off the workout with foam rolling/LAX ball and finished with static stretching at the end of my active recovery/cardio circuit.
Move from one exercise to the next with minimal rest and when it comes time to do the low-intensity resistance exercises, MAKE SURE you pick a lighter weight. This should NOT turn into another “regular” weight lifting session, as that would just defeat the purpose.
Remember, when you train hard, you have to recovery smart. Give this, or a similar set-up a try and reap the benefits!
Training Videos From The Week That Was – Part II
July 6, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Although I’m sure you all enjoyed a beer and a burger (I know I did), I hope you still managed some holiday training!
My parents were in town from Illinois to meet their grandkids. We had them and a few friends over to cookout, swim, and do a little celebrating. But before that took place, me and my clients made sure we got work done in the gym! …
Here is Coco doing push-ups with a pause in the bottom position. The goal was to perform 5 reps at a tempo that made it so the 5th rep was very tough. This was her first set, so she was just “feeling out” the proper speed. In the sets to follow, she actually went slower on the way down, and paused longer in the bottom position.
It had been awhile since I tested chins for max reps. So I woke up Sunday morning, met some of the high school kids at the gym, and got a training session in with them. The end result…
BTW, my abs were killing me the next day. NOT the 1st time that has happened after a touch chin/pull-up day. Just goes to show you how much the abs are working during a properly executed chin!
Dumbbell holds are up next. This is the last exercise the b-ballers perform before calling it a week in the weight room. I like to have them finish with an exercise that challenges their mental toughness a little bit. It also builds a little team camaraderie as the kids quite often heckle/raz/push/encourage one another when their teammate’s turn is up. Fun to watch too!
Brandon performs 3 chins with 55 pounds added…
Coco does a set of RDLs with 135 pounds for 8 reps. She always does a great job, but I’m still trying to get her to keep her head neutral (in line with her spine), and I’d like to see her back with a little bit of a tighter arch. Hey, I am aim for perfection, what can I say.
Jerome performs dumbbell incline presses…
I’ll leave it there for now. Check back for more videos in the weeks to come.
Don’t forget, you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Have a great, healthy week!
MUST HAVE Cookbook For The Fit Food Lover! And a Great Salad Dressing Recipe
June 29, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Just like you (I’m sure), I LOVE food. Did you know tasty food can also be healthy? Most people associate healthy food with boring, nasty tasting food. Another serving of plain chicken breast and broccoli anyone? This doesn’t have to be the case. There are MANY great tasting foods that are also healthy. In our household, we use Gourmet Nutrition quite a bit. As it says on the cover; “The Cookbook For The Fit Food Lover.” There are 100 recipes in there, and the vast majority of them taste great… except for the recipes that call for tomatoes, celery, or mushrooms. 
I’ve always hated those foods. I wish I didn’t, because they are all healthy. But lucky for me, there are plenty of other great ingredients/recipes throughout this book.
I’ll give you a quick healthy salad dressing to try;
“Balsamic Vinaigrette”
-Extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup
-Balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup
-Shallots (finely diced) 1/4 cup (we like to use garlic in place of the shallots sometimes – your call though)
-Fresh parsley (finely chopped) 1/4 cup
-Salt and pepper, to taste
People quite often make their “healthy” salad, not so healthy because of the dressing. Try the above dressing and you can now MAKE SURE your salad truly is healthy.
I can’t recommend this book enough. If you love to grub, but also need to eat food that tastes great, then Gourmet Nutrition is just what you need!
Exercise of the Week: All About the Hamstrings!
June 26, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
This one is all about the hammies. It is called the Single Leg Straight Leg Elevated Hip Extension (man, that’s a mouthful). It’s another great bodyweight exercise. It’s amazing what we can get done with just our bodyweight as the “equipment!”
To perform, lie face up on the ground with your foot on a bench. From there, rise your hips as high as possible, and squeeze the glutes at top. Even know this is primarily a hamstring exercise, try your best to bring your glute into play at the top of the movement. As soon as you feel like you have lost even a little bit of range of motion (you can’t get as high), stop the set.
Progressions and Regressions
-If you can’t fully extend your hip, start with two legs, and as you get stronger, progress to the one leg version
-If you can get one leg with good form, but can’t get many reps (6 or less), use this exercise early in your workout while you are fresh
-If these are fairly easy for you, perform high rep sets (15 + reps). Even for the strongest people, these can also become very difficult if they are performed in a fatigue state. In this case, perform these as the 3rd or 4th leg exercise in that workout.
For example; Leg exercise one = sumo deadlifts; Leg exercise two = bulgarian split squats; And finally, leg exercise three = Single Leg Straight Leg Elevated Hip Extension. In this case, 10-12 reps will be hard for most.
-You can also perform the version that I learned from Bret Contreras.
Here, you hold onto a barbell and elevate your entire body. This increases the range of motion making the exercise more difficult.
So, if you want to jump higher, run faster, or just have nicer looking hammies, give these a try!
The College World Series Statue Is ME!
June 22, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
Many of my friends and family members already know this story, but those of you reading this that do not, I thought you may find it interested…
Back when I attended the University of Nebraska @ Omaha, I was an education major. One of my terrific classes was called, “Modern Dance,” or something like that. The instructor of this class knew the person that was hired to make the statue in front of Rosenblatt Stadium (the home of the CWS is now at a different stadium, but they brought the statue along for the ride – as they talk about in this piece). My instructor (Professor Metal-Corbin) told John Labja (the “statue-maker”) that she had a few college athletes in her class. Mr. Labja thought it would be helpful for him to come into one of our classes to take some “action shots,” to get a better feel of how athletes move. Obviously I (the basketball player) was in this class, and if I recall, we had two wrestlers and a football player in the same class.
So, John had me act like I was rounding 3rd base (right there in the dance studio “classroom”) and jump into the arms of the 3 other guys waiting for me at “home plate,” as if I had just hit the game-winning home run. He took a bunch of pictures, took them back to his “lab,” and analyzed how athletes move when up in the arms of others in this home run celebration reenactment.
We then got word that John was not a baseball expert, and that he was looking for someone to go to his downtown studio to help him make this whole thing look as real as possible. I said that I’d be happy to do it, so I headed downtown to meet John. I helped him with things like where the footprints (spikes) would have accumulated in the batters box from where the batters stood. Same thing with the catcher and umpire’s footprints. Things like that.
Anyway, since he appreciated my help, he told me that he’d like me to come back for another visit so he could put a cast-molding (or whatever you call) over my face so we could make the statue (the “hero” in the statue) look as much like me as possible, and use it for the statue’s face.
So I headed down there a few days later. John sat me in a chair and put this “stuff” on my face while I sat there until it completely hardened. When it was ready, John took this “mask” off of my face, and used it make the face of the statue.
Pretty cool experience! So, the next time they show the statue on T.V. at the CWS, be sure to tell me, “hi.”
The Most Important Factor In Achieving Your Physique Goals?
June 22, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
When it comes down to being as sexified looking as possible, there are many factors that come into play. But what is the most important factor?
Is it weight training? Soft tissue work (i.e. foam rolling)? Cardio? Protein? Veggies? Active Recovery? Explosive work? Adequate sleep? Something else?
All of the above are important, obviously. But numero uno on my list may just be…
How we respond to a bad day of eating. We are all going to have a set-back here and there, but will your set-back turn into two days of pure crap eating? How about a terrible Saturday and Sunday, followed by a below average Monday and a not-so-good Tuesday? Sound familiar? If it does, then you are probably frustrated with your results. If you have a bad day, don’t worry, get RIGHT BACK ON the plan asap! If you do this, you’ll be fine. Don’t stress, just brush it off and again, get back onto clean livin’.
Here’s an example – I ate really clean for the two-weeks leading up to the pool party that I attended on Father’s Day. But at this party, I drank a few beers, had a couple of snacks, and basically just enjoyed myself. Now, here’s the key, when I woke up Monday morning, it was oats + blueberries + protein powder (with a little bit of cinnamon added) + 1 fish oil capsule. Then, when I had a break between clients, I headed straight to the store to stock up for the week.
In this trip to the store, I picked up;
-Old Fashioned Oatmeal (I forget to include this in the picture above)
-2 cartons of cage-free eggs (36 total eggs)
-8 free range frozen chicken breasts
-Bag of frozen organic blueberries
-Bag of frozen organic berry mix (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
-BIG Bag of organic “bean trio” (1st time trying this, it is a blend of lentils, adzuki, and mung beans. Hmm? We shall see how it tastes)
And then, already stocked up in my fridge/freezer at home are some veggies (cauliflower, green beans, etc), apples, and some more meats.
Anyway, as you can see, I jumped RIGHT BACK ON the healthy-train right away. I didn’t stress about having a less than stellar day on Father’s Day, and I feel no guilt – BECAUSE I didn’t let this snowball into something big ‘n ugly.
See, if you play your cards right, you CAN have your cake and eat it too!
My Cardio Medley Session…
June 19, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
For some, a 30-minute jog or “ride” on the stationary bike is a way to clear the mind. It’s a way to escape for a brief period, and “get away.” Not for me! Twelve seconds into it, here’s what my mind is saying; “I can’t believe I still have 29 minutes and 48 seconds to go. This is the worst, someone kill me!” My ADD is way too strong. I need change, and I need it quickly.
If you are anything like me, I suggest performing cardio “medleys.” A cardio medley is a great way to prevent EXTREME boredom. Medleys are also beneficial because they help prevent overuse injuries. For example…
-Running 30 minutes straight is extremely repetitive. This can be very hard on the joints… especially if you are carrying a few extra pounds.
-30 minutes hunched over a bike reinforces the posture that many of us are in all day while we are sitting on our butts at the computer; sitting for hours on end at work; driving in a our car; watching TV; etc. etc.
Anyway, to reduce the chance of these issues, and for all of us ADD people, medleys are great. I know I won’t be performing “traditional” cardio anytime soon. Here is what my cardio medley looked like yesterday…
That was:
-8 Sumo Deadlifts
-3 Chin-ups
-8 Hang Cleans
-8 Push-ups
-8 Jump Squats
Breaking it down: Deadifts with 135 pound is very easy, IF that is all I did. But it is a enough to get my heart rate up going into the next exercise… chin-ups. 3 chin-ups are very easy, but become a little more difficult after doing deadlifts. I then went onto hang cleans with 95 pounds. This would usually be an easy weight, but is quite a bit harder after doing deadlifts and chins. Next I went onto push-ups and finished with jump squats. Once again, 8 push-ups and 8 jump squats are easy as a stand-alone, but as the 4th and 5th exercises in this medley, not so much. My heart was pounding through my chest after that last jump squat. Health and fat loss made a little more fun (still kind of miserable, but not as bad as usual ).
I then rested 60 seconds, and repeated as many sets as possible.
I purposely chose a weight that would jack my heart rate up (and make this very difficult), but not a weight that would make this session serve as “interference” for my weight training sessions. If I had performed any slow, grinding reps due to a heavy load (on the deadlifts for example), this session would just have made recovery tougher for my weight training session tomorrow. It’s all about seeing the big picture – even know I incorporated weights into this CARDIO session, it was NOT a lifting session.
So there you go. Incorporate medleys into your cardio plan. And if possible, try to mix both upper and lower body movements into the session. This will ensure that a particular body part does not become the limiting factor (and will help prevent soreness for that body part), rather your heart & lungs will be reason that you have to stop, when the time comes.
Finally, Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there. I am very happy to be apart of this group!
